Episodes
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Mike discusses: His coaching career, including time at Santa Monica Community College and an epic comeback against Orange Coast Community College and how instrumental all -time LEGEND Randy Stoklos was, some of the heaviest hitters he ever saw, how he developed indoors as a player at places like John Adams Middle School, Pierce College, etc... Playing with Dave Schaeffer indoors, and classic story of "breaking in" filling in for '64 Olympian and Stockton Club player, Chuck Nelson in a tournament with fellow Olympians Rudy Suwara and Butch "4-F" May.
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Stormin' Normand discusses: The brilliance of UCLA Coach Al Scates, the infamous "CIRCLE DRILL", "The Blue Curtain", CURL OFF in UCLA weight room against Trevor Schirman... His beach volleyball career, including epic 3rd place finish with the only guy with a mustache better than him, the LATE Rick "Bear Dog"" at the '77 State Beach World Championships, and mentoring a young Sinjin Smith to his first win at the '77 Marine Street Open... Plus the LEGENDARY story of when a just out of Santa Barbara HS Karch Kiraly and Marco Ortega competed against him and Sinjin in first round. Karch mouthed off " Choke city", after winning first game, and had the living daylights scared out of him once he got a "load" of STORMIN' NORMAND..... Lesson LEARNED....
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Missing episodes?
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Stormin' Normand discusses: His youth as a kid, his time as a Green Beret in Vietnam, how he became interested in the sport, and his time at UCLA in '73 and '74.
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Digger Discusses:
- Some additional memories from his time as a player at San Diego State, including his recollection of how talented Duncan McFarland was, not to mention his other talented teammates he is honored to have played alongside with, how he transitioned from his playing career to the real world as a High School Teacher and Coach , including coaching volleyball for the girls program at Hoover HS in San Diego, and recruiting Tod Mattox to help coach, and the LIFELONG friendship he's had with him since, his time coaching the women's team at Grossmont College, and how grateful he was to be a part of the collegiate sport during the implementation of Title IX, and when women's volleyball became a NCAA sport in '81, his next coaching endeavor at UCSD for the Tritons men's program, and getting to compete against storied programs like UCLA, USC, and Pepperdine, to name a few, the "real life" moment he came to as a husband and father living in Cardiff teaching and coaching, working 18 hours a day and commuting a hour all over the place, (even though he loved every minute of it), and making the decision to relocate to Walla Walla, Washington to become an English Teacher and high school girls volleyball coach so his family could have a better quality of life, what he is doing now career wise with his Socratic Seminars across the country, his amazing family - wife April, daughter Erin, and son Kevin, who the best hitters, diggers, and setters were from his era, and what he is most proud of from his career as a player, coach, and educator.....
Digger's Company: https://www.socraticseminars.com/
Daughter Erin's Company: https://www.luxeengland.com/
Digger's musician son's Kevin Graybill's page: https://graybillmusic.com/Support the show
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Jay Discusses:
- The '84 player strike at the Jose Cuervo World Championships in Redondo Beach when he and Andy Fishburn crossed the picket line to win the tournament, WHY they did so, the repercussions they faced on multiple levels for years to follow, how he and Andy could have handled it better in hindsight, getting back in the good graces of their peers later on, the talent level of young lions Scott Ayakatubby & Brent Frohoff and the influence Karch had on each of them when he partnered up with both later in their careers and helped them learn what it takes to win, the other young guys that came along during his career that impressed him: Kent Steffes, Mike Whitmarsh, Leif Hanson, and Brian Lewis, and what set them apart from the rest of the young guns when it came to winning, how Selznick, Lang, & Von Hagen were the first TRUE professionals of the sport with their tireless dedication to the sport practicing and playing non-stop, and how they set the precedent on what it takes to win....Support the show
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Digger discusses:
- Reflections on relationships and friends from Manhattan Beach (Mike Cook, John Gonzalez, Mitch Malpee to name a few), competing indoors in the USVBA for Players Liquor and a fun "trip" competing in Mexico , relocating to San Diego and living on Mission Blvd, competing on the men's indoor volleyball team for San Diego State in '71 & '72, starting and running the Mission Beach Volleyball clinics in '73 alongside friends and teammates, being the catalyst for the Winston Open at S. Mission Beach, some of the memorable people and friends from the San Diego area (George Stepanof, John & Fred Featherstone, Bob Mendoza, to name a few), and a classic story of competing against Bob Vogelsang and Wilt Chamberlin.Support the show
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Art Discusses:
- Being an influence on fellow lefty Al Scates, growing up in Los Angeles and competing in basketball at Los Angeles high school, being a member of the UCLA Bruins basketball team for legendary coach John Wooden from '48-'51, and what it was like playing for him, learning the sport of volleyball at Sorrento Beach, competing for the prestigious Hollywood YMCA Stars team from '56-'59, where the team won 4 Open Championships, and Art was named a 3 X All-American outside hitter, his memories of his teammates (including Gene Selznick, Mike O'Hara, Ron Lang, Rolf Engen, Walt Schiller, and Bill Olsson), competing on the USA Men's Indoor National team during those same years, including a 4th place finish at the World Championships in Paris, France in '56, what he accomplished in the career world after his athletic career concluded, and his family life, including his 2 wonderful wives, and sons....Support the show
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Digger discusses:
- Growing up in Manhattan Beach in the 60's, some of his fellow volleyball players he got his start with in the sport, the humbling and exhilarating road of playing in his first tournament at Muscle Beach in '68, to ascending the ranking system from his B to AAA ranking over the coming summers, some of the highlights of his beach playing career, including a 2nd place finish at the State Beach Open alongside partner Marshall Savage in '71, a 4th place finish at the Marine Street Open alongside Dennis Hare in '71, as well as winning the Manhattan Beach 6 man tournament as a member of the Sky King & the Astro Flashes, also in '71.Support the show
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Jay Discusses:
- His time at Pacific Palisades High School competing in volleyball and basketball as a Dolphin - '68-'70, and the amazing athletes that were there at the time, going to Sorrento Beach and seeing legends like Ron Von Hagen & Ron Lang play beach volleyball, and how BIG of an influence they had on him and the other young volleyball players coming up at the time, his time at UCSB playing volleyball and finishing runner up to UCLA in '74 and '75, and the high of winning the '75 USVBA Open tournament with his USCSB teammates in '74 in Knoxville, Tennessee, the process of earning your A, AA, and AAA rating as young player coming up through the ranks with Greg Lee, how talented the Pali high Dolphin's basketball team was in '69 and '70, winning the LA School's city championship in '69, and finishing runner up in '70, and how talented Tom Chamales was as a player.Support the show
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Alan Discusses:
- A memorable story from the '64 Laguna Beach Open where he witnessed what he considers to be one of , if not the greatest matches he's ever seen (Dave Bordwell & Nate Parrish vs. Ernie Suwara & Keith Erickson), a classic story of Chester Goss, his recollection of the best players at each beach up and down the coast from San Diego to Santa Cruz, a story about playing against Wally Cleaver ( Aka Tony Dow from the tv show Leave it to Beaver), the best hitters he saw, the best diggers, best players, and most underrated players from that time period, highlights of his career playing volleyball on the beach, indoors, and grass, and what he is up to now days living on Mission Beach.Support the show
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Alan Discusses:
- Growing up as a kid in the 50's in South Mission Beach, San Diego, and becoming a part of the surf and volleyball culture there, including hanging out with surfers like Mike Hynson (from the Bruce Brown film "The Endless Summer", and Skip Frye), the Mission Beach volleyball crew consisting of Nate Parrish, George Stepanof, Jack Henn, Chester and Stevie Goss, Bob Mendoza, Jean Ready Froning, and Jeanne Lenhart, the infamous Corona Del Mar party where things got "out of hand", including Nate Parrish putting his head through the glass window and throwing a couch from the second story onto a Porsche below, playing against legends Mike O'Hara & Mike Bright in the first round, and then Ron Lang & Gene Selznick in the tournament that weekend, and a classic story of competing against Steno Brunicardi and Kent Dorwin where he and his partner made the mistake of listening to Nate Parrish's advice...Support the show
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Butch Discusses:
- Some of the better known women's players on the beach from years passed, including Connie Keller, Jean Brunicardi, Patti Steere, Johnette Latreille, Edie Conrad, Eileen Clancy, Kathy Gregory, Nina Gruenwinkel-Matthies, and Nancy Cohen to name a few, what made the mixed game so amazing, including some of the best men's mixed players over the decades, and some fun stories competing against them, the impact Mike Cook had at Marine Street, how far the beach game has come with the players today all over the WORLD, and the two USA women's beach players, Sarah Spocil, and Kristen Nuss, that he feels have infinite potential on the beach...Support the show
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Butch Discusses:
- Mike O'Hara and his memories of him from the Hollywood YMCA and what made him an impressive indoor player, the time O'Hara asked Butch to play with him at Corona Del Mar in Butch's FIRST open tournament, including some memorable moments from that weekend in '65, Mike Bright and his memories of him, including Mike's paddle boarding prowess, and the impact paddle boarder and surfer Tommy Zahn had on a young Mike Bright, some epic stories of Bright competing in the Catalina to Manhattan Beach Paddle Board contest, and another in Hawaii against surfing legend George Downing, some epic stories about making the '68 Men's Indoor Olympic Volleyball team and punching Mike Bright in the face during the try outs in Lake Tahoe and the drama that ensued through out the Olympics, Butch's "interactions" with Coach Jim Coleman, including hanging Coleman off the 3rd story balcony of the hotel when Butch disagreed with Coleman's questionable coaching decisions, and how Butch rode a bicycle up to Bright's house in the canyon now once, but three times when fires threatened to burn down Bright's house....Support the show
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Butch Discusses:
- His two men's Open Wins with Rudy Suwara, and Dane Holtzman in Santa Cruz, and his recollection of both of them and what made them great players, his recollection of the '68 Manhattan Beach Open he played in with Mike Bright where they finished 3rd , and how amazing Rundle and Bergmann & Lang & Von Hagen played that weekend, including the legendary story of Steno Brunicardi getting hit in the head with a beer bottle by a fan and what transpired after, and how talented Gene Selznicjk was ....Support the show
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Butch Discusses:
- The Mixed game, Eileen Clancy and seeing how talented she was as a young 10 year old kid playing with Jack Jensen, and the fact that she could drink a beer like no one's business, and asked her to play, a classic Butch and Barbara May Marine street mixed open story when they decided to forfeit when they weren't getting along, much to the chagrin of tournament director -Mike Cook, some of the talented mixed players he competed against, including Matt Gage, Nina Gruenwinkel (Matthies), Rose Duncan, Captain Buzz Swarts, Ron Lang, Mike O'Hara, Edie Conrad, Johnette Latreille, Gene Selznick, Jim Savage, and Sandy Malpee, to name a few, riding motorcycles in his spare time with Al Wurtzel, surfing with Mike Bright, and working with him at Rick's Surfboards (later Becker Surfboards) and getting paid with a surfboard!, a classic story of playing rugby with the owner of Mattel Toys!, and how grateful he is to have met the amazing people he has thanks to the sport of volleyball....Support the show
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Butch Discusses:
- The 2020 Olympics, including his take on the USA women's indoor team thus far, the USA men's indoor team and where they need to improve moving forward, and which indoor teams he thinks are the favorites to medal. He then touches on the beach volleyball games, what went wrong from Sponcil & Claes, and Dalhausser & Lucena, and who the favorites are to medal.Support the show
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Butch Discusses:
- MUSCLE BEACH. The players that played there over the years he was there, the eclectic group of people from ALL walks of life that hung out there ( body builders, gymnasts, mobsters, pro sport athletes, war heroes, successful business owners, you name it), the CHARACTERS like Steven "TheMatsa" Cahn, the infamous card games played there with Wilt Chamberlin, Bob Vogelsang, etc... Hot Dog on a Stick, the beach clubs located close by, including how Doug Badt's Sand & Sea Club had the BEST food on the beach :), the legendary Barber family that was an integral part of the scene, and how bonded the Muscle Beach (Sewer of Volleyball) crew from that golden era is to this day......Support the show
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Butch Discusses:
- More details on the '64 Olympic Team, including the FLAWED selection process, how talented Gene Selznick and Keith Erickson were, his recollection as a young beach player trying to "break in" at Muscle, Sorrento, and State Beach, and some CLASSIC stories of "who was who" at each beach, and the HOOPS he had to jump through to make a name for himself at each, and a classic story ( from this day forward to be remembered as "Shabba Habbitz") in the history of the sport, when he played in a Winston Volleyball tournament alongside Gene Selznick later in their careers against a young Don Shaw and his partner....Support the show
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Butch Discusses:
- The patriotic story of how he got his nick name "BUTCH" while still in the womb, his start in the sport as a high school kid growing up in Hawaii, and seeing the talented players at the Outrigger, and Hawaiian Village, including an epic story of sneaking in the Outrigger and taking a hit to the face from future '68 Olympic teammate, Tommy Haine, his infamous "4-F packet" story when he was drafted in '66!, his background before volleyball working in a lumber mill in a small town, his amateur bull riding career where he rode a bull on his first attempt EVER for 8 seconds, and earned a 4th place finish, and how he spent his $ winnings by buying a round of drinks for everyone in the BAR, how he met Colonel Burt DeGroot, and ended up playing for him at Santa Monica Comm. College alongside teammates like Bill Clemo and Ernie Suwara in '63/'64, sharing an apartment with Ernie Suwara when they were teammates at SMCC, how big of an influence Coach - Colonel Burt DeGroot had on him as young player, his recollection of the debacle that was '64 USA Olympic team, how the team was chosen, and how some of the best players were left off the team by Coach Harry Wilson, and some classic stories of how amazing Ernie Suwara was as a hitter!Support the show
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Ron Von Hagen shares his recollection of the infamous 1968 Manhattan Beach Open where he and Ron Lang BATTLED Larry Rundle & Henry Bergmann for 7 plus hours between the Winners bracket finals, and FINALS, where they were dead even until it got dark and Lang couldn't see the ball. Amazing....
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